Christmas, Taxes and a Heart for God

King David statue outside his tomb in Mount Zion Jerusalem, Israel. The Messiah is a direct descent of King David.

We are counting the days down to Christmas, and this is the time of year I tend to write Christmas-themed pieces. Kind of fitting I guess! The Christmas season is always a great time for reflection of the amazing thing God did when He entered into the history of His own creation and became one of us. It’s a time of great hope and a time to appreciate what God has done for us. In this piece, though, I look back from the birth of Jesus, the seed of Jesse, father of David, to David, remembering the human frailties and predisposition to be led astray, and God’s heart for those who have a heart for Him.

Copyright: alefbet editorial use onlyArchaeological site, City of David in Jerusalem, Israel on May 9, 2017

This blog article is prompted by a Christmas tax article. Yes, Christmas and income taxes go together. Who would’ve thunk it?!

In Luke 2:1, we read that Caesar Augustus sent out a decree for a census. It turns out the census was declared so that the Caesar could tax people. I didn’t know that before.

That previously unknown fact (unknown to me at least) isn’t what caught my eye or what prompts this article, though. The article is also not about unjust taxes that burden the poor and avoid the rich. This article also isn’t about the controversy over whether Luke is accurate about the census and the timing of it.

What prompts me to write this piece is the reference to a previous census and previous tax and the surprising and shocking…